In British Columbia, local government decision-making shapes the community it serves, whether that community is a village, town, city or electoral area. The welfare and interests of the community’s future is promoted with a vision implemented through the adoption of policies and bylaws.

In the Comox Valley, the community and regional visions are reflected in the Official Community Plans and a Regional Growth Strategy.

To meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability, some communities’ short-term decisions are made in a reactive, chop and change manner. In the long run, this approach often fails to protect the municipality’s assets from damage and results in local government missing out on key partnerships and funding opportunities.

On the other hand, proactive municipal decision-making implements a clear, integrated, short and long-term planning strategy, designed specifically to meet the challenges of a community thoughtfully, efficiently and effectively.

BC municipal elections take place October 20, 2018.

On Thursday, May 24, CV Global Awareness Network, the CV Council of Canadians and Imagine Comox Valley invite you to a Sustainability Forum, where voters will have an opportunity to hear more about the possibility of reaching sustainable solutions to current local issues and problems.

The evening will begin with an introduction to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, followed with an overview of the goals outlined in the Regional Growth Strategy and Official Community Plans and why these matter to the well-being of our Comox Valley communities.

Five local speakers will present information on a range of issues from valuing eco-assets, food security and air quality, to increasing energy efficiency in new construction and ending homelessness. After each presentation, there will be an opportunity for questions.

Whether you are a voter who wants to support candidates who will take a proactive approach to enacting sustainable policies and programs or if you are considering running as a candidate in the 2018 municipal election – this Forum will address what is currently taking place in the Valley and how we can move toward sustainable solutions for our community.

Everyone is invited to attend the Comox Valley Sustainability Forum at 7 pm in the Rotary Room of the Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Ave., Courtenay.

Back in the 1890s, if you had sat down with a farrier or stable keeper, and told them that within 30 years their entire industry would mostly disappear, they would have probably reacted with a mixture of disbelief and anger. Yet, that is exactly what happened. Between 1890 and 1930, car ownership in the USA went from 0% of households to 60% of all households. Saturation of car ownership decreased as a result of the Great Depression and WW2, but between 1945 and 1960 it jumped from 47% all the way to 80%, and then slowly peaked to the current 92% of households with cars. Today, just over a century after the mainstream debut of the personal automobile, horses are a luxury hobby item, and no longer a mainstay of personal transportation.

We are currently in the midst of another paradigm shift, one which unique conditions in the Comox Valley may well accelerate faster than in other areas. The first sign is the phenomenon of car sharing companies. Car sharing started off in 1948 in Zurich. Despite some early formal car share programs in Europe in the 1970s, successful car share programs didn’t really take off until the 1980s and 1990s. Since then the whole concept has achieved exponential growth with a most recently estimated 1.7 million car share members in 27 countries. Car share member to car ratios are as high as 75 people per car.

This shift to shared car ownership, combined with the growing popularity of cycling as a primary short distance form of transportation, and an aging demographic where the share of the Comox Valley population over 80 (and mostly non-drivers) is set to grow from 4.6% to 7.4% by 2031, is all going to result in less cars on our roads. Combine this with the rise in sales of electric vehicles, which will comprise at least 35% of all cars on the road by 2040, and we are going to see a radical shift in traffic patterns and how our transportation infrastructure is used.

Now is the time to begin to plan for these inevitable changes in the fabric of our society, and to start making prudent transportation investment choices including bike lanes, charging stations, and more, much more, transit.

Andrew Gower is a partner and Courtenay branch manager of Wedler Engineering. He volunteers with several local non-profits and is passionate about the Comox Valley’s sustainable future. He can be reached at 250.334.3263 or www.wedler.com.

One of the few concepts I remember from my traffic engineering studies is the very counter-intuitive fact that the difference between the most highly efficient state of traffic flow and a total traffic jam is very minimal.

It only takes a miniscule increase in the number of vehicles on any given road to go from well flowing traffic to complete gridlock. That’s why even a small transition of people out of cars and into other modes of transportation can make a significant impact on the flow of vehicle traffic. Only a few more people riding bikes, walking or taking the bus can dramatically increase the efficiency of travel for everyone on our roads.

This is why the construction of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure – such as the proposed bridge on 6th Street, bike lanes and better sidewalks – benefits all of us. Even a 5% increase in non-vehicle transportation can significantly improve the efficiency of roads for people who choose to remain in their vehicles, as it moves us further away from the tipping point between efficient traffic and traffic jams.

Combine this with the fact that the same number of people can be moved with non-vehicular infrastructure that costs significantly less than the equivalent vehicle infrastructure that would be required, and the cost savings begin to add up.

Removing vehicles from the road will also decrease wear and tear on existing infrastructure, extending the life of roads we’ve already built and, again, saving everyone money.

In the end, people who choose to continue to drive cars will benefit immensely from every penny spent on bike lanes, transit improvements and pedestrian infrastructure.

Andrew Gower is a partner and Courtenay branch manager of Wedler Engineering. He volunteers with several local non-profits and is passionate about the Comox Valley’s sustainable future. He can be reached at 250.334.3263 or www.wedler.com.